Ringette is a winter team sport played on an ice rink using ice hockey skates, straight sticks with drag-tips, and a blue, rubber, pneumatic ring designed for use on ice surfaces. While the sport was originally created exclusively for female competitors, it has expanded to now include participants of all gender identities. Although ringette looks ice hockey-like and is played on ice hockey rinks, the sport has its own lines and markings, and its offensive and defensive play bear a closer resemblance to lacrosse or basketball.
The National Ringette League (NRL) (French: Ligue Nationale de Ringuette, LNR) is the premier league for the sport of ringette in North America and Canada's national league for elite ringette players aged 18 and up. The NRL is not a women's variant of a more well-known men's league or sport like professional women's ice hockey or bandy; one of ringette's distinctive features is that all of its players are girls and women. As such, the NRL is the continent's first and only winter team sports league whose entire athlete roster is made up of women and non-binary athletes.
Judy Diduck is a retired Canadian ringette and ice hockey player. Diduck was born in Edmonton, Alberta, but grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta. She competed in the first World Ringette Championships in 1990 for Team Alberta who became the first world champions in the sport. In 2005, she was inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame. Diduck is also a former member of the Canada women's national ice hockey team.
The Bourassa Royal or Le Royal de Bourassa is a Canadian ringette team in Canada's National Ringette League (NRL) which competes in the Eastern Conference in the White division. Founded in 2004 and based in Quebec, the team recruits players from Bourassa-Laval-Lanaudière. The team has been inactive in the recent years of the NRL.
The Montréal Mission is a ringette team in the National Ringette League (NRL), competing in the White Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 2004. The team gathers its players from the region of Montréal, Québec, and plays its home games at Centre Étienne Desmarteau.
The Cambridge Turbos is a ringette team in the National Ringette League (NRL) competing in the Eastern Conference's Red Division. Founded in 2003, the is team based in Cambridge, Ontario. The Turbos home arena is the Hespeler Memorial Arena, a facility which is a twin sheet arena with two Olympic-sized sheets of ice.
The prominent women's sports leagues in the United States and Canada serve as the pinnacle of women's athletic competition in North America. The United States is home to the vast majority of professional women's leagues. In North America, the top women's leagues feature both team sports and individual athletes. While some leagues have paid professional female athletes, others do not and function at a semi-professional level.
Julie Blanchette is an elite level Canadian ringette player who has also worked as a trainer and coach and served as the captain of several ringette teams including Team Canada. Blanchette plays for the Montreal Mission of the National Ringette League and has also been a member of the Canadian national ringette team as both player and coach.
Shelly Hruska is a Canadian Metis, a former ringette and bandy player, coach, and teacher from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Hruska helped lead Team Canada twice to victory in the World Ringette Championships.
2018 Canadian Ringette Championships was 40th edition of Canadian Ringette Championships. It was a national ringette tournament held from April 9 to April 14, 2018 at Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The Atlantic Attack is a ringette team in the Canadian National Ringette League (NRL) that mostly consists of players from Atlantic Canada and is based in Dieppe, New Brunswick. The team competes in the Eastern Conference in the White division and was founded in 2011. Its home arena is in Cocagne, New Brunswick. In their 7th season, the Atlantic Attack won their first National Ringette League Playoff title. In the past the Attack also competed against Bourassa Royal before that NRL team was discontinued.
Ringette in Canada began in 1963 when it was first conceptualized by Sam Jacks of North Bay, Ontario, in West Ferris. The sport of ringette is played in all 10 Canadian provinces and the Northwest Territories and involves an average of over 31,000 registered players every year. Canada is the location of ringette's origin where it is also recognized as a national heritage sport. The sport is governed nationally by Ringette Canada. Canadian provinces and territories have their own individual governing bodies in their respective jurisdictions.
The Calgary RATH is a ringette team in the National Ringette League's (NRL) Western Conference. The team is based in Calgary, Alberta.
Ringette at the 2023 Canada Winter Games took place in Prince Edward Island at the Cavendish Farms Wellness Centre in Montague, and the MacLauchlan Arena in Charlottetown at the University of Prince Edward Island. The event ran from Sunday, February 19, 2023, to Saturday, February 25, 2023.
Keely Brown is a former Canadian national level athlete who played ringette, roller in-line hockey, and ice hockey as a goaltender. She played for the Canadian Senior National Ringette Team and was also a goalie on the Canadian Women's National Inline Hockey team. Brown also played semi-professional ringette in Canada's National Ringette League and in semi-pro women's ice hockey. Brown currently works for the National Hockey League's, Edmonton Oilers as a Senior Legal Counsel, and works for the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG).
Lyndsay Wheelans is a former Canadian national level ringette athlete and coach who was born in Calgary, Alberta, and raised in Edmonton. She played successfully for the Canadian national ringette team and coached both Team Canada and Team Finland in the World Ringette Championships (WRC). She was Head Coach of Team Canada from 2006 - 2011. For over 25 years, Wheelans has been playing ringette and coaching at both national and international levels, starting in 1988.
The Saskatchewan Heat is a ringette team in the National Ringette League's (NRL) Western Conference. The team is based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and is organized by Ringette Saskatchewan. The team was previously called the Saskatoon Wild.
The BC Thunder is a ringette team in the National Ringette League's (NRL) Western Conference. The team is based in Richmond, British Columbia.
The Manitoba Herd is a ringette team in the National Ringette League's (NRL) Western Conference. The team is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The team was previously called the Manitoba Intact.
Stéphanie Séguin, is an elite level Canadian ringette player who competes as a forward. Séguin currently plays for the Montreal Mission in the National Ringette League (NRL). She has been a member of Canada's national ringette team as a player and coach. In 2023, Séguin is an assistant ringette coach for Team Canada Junior (U21) competing in the 2023 World Ringette Championships.
Edmonton, Alberta
